Princely beast, Beastly prince
by xx - - - - - mistarr f u z z
Summary: His prince. HIS prince. His horrible, murdering, conniving, beautiful, intelligent, wonderful prince. How could Ryuzaki have ever been so stupid? Slightly LxLight, oneshot. No lemon. L's thoughts on Light after the death note is recovered from Higuchi.


Author's Note : So this fanfic was written for a writing contest being hosted on , and inspired by the song _Two Princes_, by Spin Doctors. I know, it doesn't make any sense. Just go with it.

Disclaimer : Unfortunately, I own none of the characters below. And it sucks.

_One, two princes kneel before you._

_Princes, princes who adore you._

* * *

His prince.

_His_ prince.

His horrible, murdering, conniving, beautiful, intelligent, wonderful prince.

How could Ryuzaki have ever been so stupid?

* * *

It was another terribly uneventful day at headquarters. L was sitting in the same spinning office chair he occupied each and everyday, inspecting an ancient-looking black notebook that he had trapped between his thumbs and forefingers. He must've double – no, _triple_ – checked every single name on every single page of the notebook. In fact, he had them memorized. And every single one of them had died of a heart attack – except, of course, for the ones who had other causes of death specified, and those all checked out, too. He'd already compared handwriting samples to the three different styles of handwriting to samples he had taken from random sources. They matched up as well. Most mirrored the handwriting of Yagami Light. A few matched the handwriting of Amane Misa. The names of the large company executives reflected the pen of Higuchi Kyosuke, along with the random criminals that had been jumbled in the mix.

Yes, Mr. "World's-Greatest-Detectives" had finally won. All it took was one wide-eyed insomniac, almost a father or an elderly man (who knew a great deal about sweets and weapons), four intelligent police agents, one stupid police agent, an air-headed blonde, the help of a mass murderer (who he could now Iprove/I was a mass murderer), and an unbelievably large amount of sugar.

So . . . why wasn't L happy?

Maybe it was the fact that the cake he'd been half-heartedly consuming was starting to feel heavier than lead when it dropped into the pit of his stomach.

Even as he tried to convince himself there was some other reason, his mind mechanically latched to the most logical and likely idea: the detective felt completely, horribly, utterly betrayed.

At first, Light had only been a suspect. Then he insisted on his own imprisonment, and . . . something changed. Something really, really changed. He wasn't just "Kira-Suspect-Number-One" anymore. He was Light-kun. He was _Ryuzaki's_ Light-kun. His first friend. His best friend. Someone he actually felt an emotional attachment to. Even if Light had still been a suspect during that time, he was also someone to cherish. Just having him there as a reassurance was more than the detective could ask for. It filled a hole – though Ryuzaki _loathed_ the clichéd term, – that had been there since L was a child, that always had been at least _partially_ empty. And just as soon as the hole got to be full enough to spill out of the top . . .

Light wasn't L's Light-kun anymore. He was just a Kira suspect. Another completely random and uncalled for personality switch (just about the time they'd recovered the notebook, no less), and Light was back to the self he had been when he had met Ryuga Hideki at the university. His former bold beliefs had become double-sided opinions again, the drive, the _flame_ that Ryuzaki so admired had backed-down to just a glowing ember, cool and calm, much like the detective's own.

What was worse?

L _missed_ his Light-kun.

_Most people would say that it's some sort of personality disorder,_ he though solemnly, placing the notebook back on the table and picking up his fork, taking an unusually small piece from the cake next to him and swallowing it robotically. _But I know better. Something made him forget that he was Kira, and now some characteristic in the notebook has made him suddenly remember. Although I have to admit . . . it's almost as if there are two Light-kuns._

Ryuzaki swallowed another particularly small piece of white cake, this time only faintly recognizing the hint of strawberry hiding in the frosting. _Both of them seem to enjoy my company; but for completely different reasons. One just wants to get close enough to get behind my barriers, and is willing to get there by any means necessary. The other . . . actually seems to care._

He paused a moment to reflect on his thoughts, before absently adding, _I even think in monotones._

"Ryuzaki?"

The familiar voice roused L from his monologue, bringing him back to reality. He was in his chair again, staring absently at the notebook with his knees tucked under his chin, chewing on his – now clean, – fork as his train of thought unwound. "Yes, Light-kun?" He replied blankly, turning toward his friend – no, not his friend anymore. His rival.

The brunette gave him a quizzical look, also taking on a customary position, his legs lazily crossed and his elbows resting on the arms of his chair, with one hand propping up his head. "You okay? No offense, but . . . you seem a little out of it today."

"Out of it?" L repeated airily, his thoughts on the words as unreadable as his expression.

"Yes."

The detective pulled his fork out of his mouth, replacing it with his right thumb, which he nibbled upon lightly in a similar fashion. "I assure you, Light-kun, I'm quite alright. Just thinking. I apologize for worrying you."

Light seemed satisfied with the answer, at least, though he did offer another inquisitive expression before turning back to an illuminated computer screen.

* * *

_Kira-kun and Light-kun,_ he thought slowly, standing upon the roof and listening to the bells ringing in the distance, _are one and the same._

The rain was falling heavily, "Raining Buckets", as the news anchors had put it. He was soaked through to the bone, and the raindrops were falling fast enough to feel like bullets against his skin, but strangely, he didn't feel any of it. Just the ball of lead that had settled in his stomach some number of days ago. Perhaps he shouldn't have eaten that cake.

_So why is it that I won't allow myself to accept that they are simply two different halves of one whole?_

He turned his head to the side thoughtfully, observing his surroundings, and, without fail, his eyes fell on Light. Of course, there was no surprise. The brunette had a talent for showing up when he was being thought about.

"What are you _doing_ standing out there by yourself?" The teen asked, almost accusingly.

He raised a hand to his ear and leaned forward a little. Of course, he could hear the boy perfectly well. But the lead-ball in his stomach was getting heavier. He didn't want to have to bear it by himself.

"What are you doing standing out there by yourself!" Light asked, louder, this time.

He raised his hand to his ear again, but this time, allowed a smile to shine through his practiced mask. Maybe Light was just trying to get under his skin. Maybe Light was just looking for a name to write down, or to have someone else write down. But . . . for once, Ryuzaki wanted to pretend.

* * *

_My Light-kun. And my Kira-kun. One and the same._

_My two princes._

_If only they were separate._

_One has diamonds in his pockets._

_This one wants to buy you lockets._

* * *

Author's Note : Fanfic number TWO! Woohoo! Even if it's just another oneshot. V.V

Hope everybody enjoyed it Leave me a reply!


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